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House of Elros

The House of Elros was the line of descendants begun by Elros, the son of Eärendil and brother of Elrond. Due to his ancestry, he was counted as one of the Half-elven, and given the choice of the life of the Eldar or the Gift of Men. He chose to live as a mortal, but was granted an extraordinary lifespan of five hundred years. He passed his longevity on to the descendants of his House, though none enjoyed such a count of years as Elros himself.

Though Númenor and its Kings were no more, the House of Elros did not end in the Downfall. The Kings had been descended through Elros' great-great-grandson Meneldur, but another branch of the House also survived: the Lords of Andúnië, descended from Meneldur's elder sister Silmariën. The line of the Lords of Andúnië continued down to Elendil and his sons Isildur and Anárion, and so was carried from Númenor to Middle-earth, surviving in the Kings of Arnor and of Gondor. Even at the time of the War of the Ring, some six thousand years after the death of its founder, there was still a living heir to the House of Elros: none other than Aragorn himself.

Contents

The Family Tree of the House of Elros

Showing the descendants of Elros Tar-Minyatur. All information in the tree is from the Unfinished Tales, either from the chart "The earlier generations of the Line of Elros"[2] or from "The Line of Elros: Kings of Númenor"[1] unless otherwise specified. The figures after the names are those of birth and death where recorded (when only one figure is shown it is the date of birth). A dagger symbol, '†' signifies those who did not die of old age. A name preceded by '*' indicates one of the ruling Kings or Queens of Númenor; an italicized name denotes a female. A vertical dashed line indicates a line of descent with some members missing. Some rulers have a name before the '*', which was their "right name" before taking the Sceptre.

Earlier Generations Notes

↑ Elros Tar-Minyatur lived for 500 years, longer than any other of his line.

↑ Vardamir did not ascend the throne when Elros died but gave the sceptre to his son, thus establishing the tradition of yielding the Sceptre before death and dying of free will while yet in vigour of mind.

↑ Silmarien was the eldest child of Tar-Elendil but since the Sceptre by the law at that time went to the eldest male child, her brother Írimon became king.

Later Generations Notes

↑ Tar-Telperiën became the second ruling queen even though she had a brother; apparently the law of succession was of simple primogeniture. She was the first ruler to not surrender the Sceptre before death.

↑ Tar-Atanamir the Great was also called "the Unwilling" since he was the first king to refuse to lay down his life or to renounce the Sceptre.

↑ Herucalmo, the husband of Tar-Vanimeldë, took the sceptre upon her death, calling himself Tar-Anducal. He was not counted in the Line of Kings as the 17th ruler.

↑ Tar-Calmacil was the first to be called (by the King's Men) by his name in Adûnaic: Ar-Belzagar.

↑ Ar-Adûnakhôr was the first to take the sceptre with an Adûnaic title (however, his name was inscribed in the Scrolls in Quenya as Tar-Herunúmen).

↑ Amandil sailed into the West to seek clemency for Númenor; he was never heard from again.

↑ Míriel should have been the fourth Ruling Queen, but upon the death of her father her cousin Pharazôn took her to wife against her will and usurped the sceptre. She died in the Downfall.

↑ Ar-Pharazôn seized the sceptre from Míriel. He died in the Downfall.